Caroline's Choice
by hellokhaleesi
Summary: This is an alternative ending to 4x14, focusing only for Caroline/Klaus/Tyler. An AU where Caroline makes her choice. First of (hopefully) many chapters. This is my first fanfiction, so any feedback in welcome.
1. Choosing

She observed the room she was in. All very Deep South, with it's obscenely orange woodwork, a shade so vulgar it would make tanning salons beg for it's secret. She thought, as she often did, about how she could make this a considerably less vile place to live. Minimalism. Lots of windows for that gorgeous view. Klaus's movements in front of her made her refocus, and a slightly fluttery sensation filled her stomach at the sight of him. She wondered whether her interior designing subconscious was referring to the landscape, or a slightly different view.

Caroline was uncomfortably aware of Tyler's eager and finely tuned ears just metres away. She was similarly aware of Klaus's eyes, and how fixed they were on her.

"I want you to let Tyler go." she said, hoping her voice didn't betray her fear.

"Caroline..." he started.

"No, don't. You ruined his life, killed his mother, enslaved him, and took away everything from him."

"And he has removed me from the only family that ever actually enjoyed my company, turned them against me and then set them after me like hunting dogs." He sniggered at his own irony, but caught her gaze. His eyes dropped uneasily to the floor. "I never managed to take you away from him."

Caroline choked on her own words. She wasn't even sure what they would have been; _Yes, you did _maybe, or _You never had to_ even. Instead, she chose to ignore him.

"You took everything from him, please don't take his life. He doesn't need to die." she pleaded.

"But I do?" Klaus's voice flared. "I'm pretty sure you and your little band of friends have been planning to kill me for quite some time, and that's why you want the cure, isn't it?"

"Klaus, I..." Caroline composed herself. "I don't think you need to die." She listened closely for anything that might betray Tyler's reaction, and she heard his heart beat outside, beating away like a bass drum. She winced inwardly, not even daring to think about what he must think of her.

"You don't?"

Klaus's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"No, I told you." Caroline said as she subconsciously moved closer to the magical barrier between them. "If you can love, you can be saved."

He mirrored her. "Would you... would you save me?"

She looked at him. Not for the first time, she really looked at him. Every fibre of her being told her that she should hate him. She should hate his thick blonde curls, and his entrancing dark eyes, and the way a smile would creep the corners of his mouth just a little higher in that way that screamed _"I have you exactly where I want you." _But how could she? He looked like a lost child, wandering the aisles of a shop, looking for his mother. **His mother.** He killed his mother. He killed Tyler's mother. He killed Jenna. He killed more people than Caroline believed she could know, even in her long lifetime ahead of her.

But it didn't matter to her, not any more. "I would save you. I'll stay. Let Tyler go, and I'll stay with you."

Klaus looked at her for a few seconds, his face coming dangerously close to looking thankful, but it soon fell back into resentment. "But you would say anything, wouldn't you? Anything to save your precious Tyler." he snarled at her.

"I love him, Klaus."

"You think I don't know?" he said, coming so close that he recoiled as he walked into Bonnie's spell. "You think the only reason I haven't torn his head off with my teeth is because I know exactly what it would do to you?"

Caroline was taken back. She was at a loss for what to say.

"You know what I think? I think you're already saving him." He was so close she could feel his breath on her face. "And I don't think you can save both of us."

He walked away, throwing himself back on the sofa. Caroline watched him go silently. He was in front of her, and Tyler was behind her. _How ironic, _she thought bitterly to herself. She was, literally, stuck between them.

She cleared her throat. "Tyler doesn't need saving from anyone but you."

"Maybe," he snorted. "but his family does have a horrible habit of being killed. So run along, I'll give you a head start. My guess is this spell won't last forever, and when I am free, I will find you both, and I will kill him."

"Klaus, please..."

"Caroline, love, our track history has more than a few blood spots on it, I would never ask you to choose. It'd be a waste of time anyway, we both know who you'd pick." He laid his head back on the arm of the sofa, and made a dismissing motion with his hand.

She looked at him, a mixture of guilt, hatred, confusion, resentment (a tiny niggling spot of lust arrived as he stretched out, a healthy portion of torso creeping out from under his t shirt, but she soon pushed that to the back of her head).

The door opened behind her; "Caroline, come on. You heard him, we need to leave." Tyler muttered urgently. He grabbed her hand and made to pull her out the door but she resisted.

"Caroline, it's completely useless." He gave her hand another tug. "He's right, Bonnie's spell won't last much longer."

She looked Tyler in the eye, and pulled her hand from him, and turned to Klaus, who was watching their exchange out of one open eye.

"You know, Klaus, Elena loves Stefan."

"Yes, but she loves Damon more." He sat up. "Not that it matters."

"When she's with Stefan, she feels loved, and safe..."

"Ironic." Tyler muttered. Caroline shot him a look.

"...but when she's with Damon, she's so free. She's happy, and she sometimes hates it, resents him, regrets her choices and even hates who she has become. He's the one everyone tells her she shouldn't have. He's selfish, and vindictive, and cruel, but he would give up his life to save her."

Klaus watched her curiously. "Yes, it's all very... touching."

"And as much as I, and everyone else, hates it, she'd do anything to make him better."

Caroline looked from Klaus to Tyler. Tyler's face was incredulous and confused, but Klaus was on his feet, disbelief painted on his features.

"She's do anything to... save him." she stuttered on the last two words as she saw Tyler's face fall. He finally realised what she was saying.

"Caroline, don't... I love you." he pleaded, holding her hand again. "Not him, anyone but..."

"I'm so sorry. I love you" she mouthed at him silently, her words catching in her throat.

She turned to face Klaus, and he held her gaze for a second, before the noise of a slamming door sounding behind them brought them back. Tyler was gone.

Caroline felt a tear fall down her face, as if her heart was a vase of tears, and now it was broken.

She looked at him mournfully. "Please don't hurt him."

Klaus looked into her eyes, not saying a word. He extended an arm towards her, which she fell in to.

At the feeling of his touch, she realised what she had done. For one, fleeting second, she was considering running after Tyler, but too quickly she had melted into Klaus's arms, pressed her sodden face against his chest and realised that she had made her choice.

He lifted her face upwards by the chin, ever so gently, and softly wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

He seemed to be trying to say something, but no words came out of his open mouth. It brought a smile to Caroline's lips to see him like this; so human.

At the sight of her smile, Klaus smiled too. "I've always thought you had the most beautiful smile I've seen in a thousand years."

She blushed, burying her face in his chest again. He responded by holding her closer to him, placing the softest of lingering kisses on the top of her head.

His lips stayed there for a minute or two, before he spoke again. "Do you really think you can save me?"

She waited a moment before looking into his eyes again. "Yes."

He looked giddy, a childish grin playing across his face.

"All we need is a few puppy training pads, a chew toy to stop you biting me, maybe one of those spray bottles for when you're naughty and I'll have you fully house trained by the end of the week..."

"You're hilarious, love." He laughed, faking going to bite her. "I'll remember to pick you up a coffin and a cape later."

"Works both ways," she tutted. "You're dead too."

"Dammit."

Caroline grinned as he lifted her off the floor. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she felt a twang of guilt about Tyler. _He's safe, Caroline,_ she thought. _That's all that matters._

She brought her attention back to Klaus. He had never looked so happy. So human. All feelings of guilt melted like butter on a hot day.

"So, this saving business..." He jumped her up so as to get a better grip. "Where to start?"

"Well..." she debated. "If I'm honest, I'm starving, and I have the _biggest _cookie craving right now."

Klaus looked at her blankly. "We have eternity ahead of us, you have a soul to save, and you're thinking about your favourite confectionery products?"

She shrugged. "I like cookies."

She shook his head, grinning at her. "Well, love, then you shall have all the cookies you desire."


	2. Her Saviour

Klaus's house was filled with large windows, and the sky was clear blue. The sun shone in hazy streaks on to Caroline's skin. She glanced down at her daylight ring. It had grown to be part of her, like an ugly tattoo. She wondered how much she would miss sunlight if she didn't have it.

"_Mi casa su casa_."

Caroline jumped. Klaus was, as usual, dressed so casually one might be forgiven for thinking he was actually a normal person. Despite her recent character and lifestyle changes, it still baffled Caroline to think that beneath those light curls was a man who had walked the Earth for 1000 years.

"I'm sorry?"

"You know, my house is your house." he said casually. Klaus did most things casually. He paused. "You look like you're at a job interview, relax."

Caroline realised she was sat poker straight, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. She tried to slump, but it was just not her style to slump.

"Did you sleep well?" Klaus sat down next to her.

"Yes, thank you. The beds here are ridiculously comfy, I almost didn't get up." she laughed. It was true. Clearly, Klaus's family had little more to spend their money on than obscenely deep mattresses.

"I'm glad." he smiled. He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. At his touch, electricity shot through Caroline's skin like she's been hit with a live wire. "I'm glad you stayed the night, love."

So was she. After the slightly messy situation with Tyler, both her and Klaus agreed it was a far too complex a situation to explain to her mother, so instead of going home, she slept in one of the many bedrooms at his house. He had offered her a place in his own with a wink and one of his annoyingly charming smiles, but Caroline had refused.

"I'm such a mess, I'd hate to cry on you all night." she had admitted. It was not a complete lie, but it wasn't entirely truthful. While she had no desire to actually cry on Klaus, she decided she needed some time to mourn her relationship with Tyler. Part of her regretted her decision (especially since Klaus had developed a fondness for skin tight t shirts recently) but she wasn't that cheap.

"If you're interested, I'm going to pop off to find some breakfast. You're welcome to join me." he said as he offered a hand.

She hesitated. "I'm more of a blood bag kind of girl."

Klaus pulled a face. "That's like drinking a fine wine from a plastic cup."

"I'm not hunting." she said indignantly.

"Never said you had to, love." He took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it; any kind of feeling against him was brushed away instantly. "I'll have some blood bags brought for you."

He placed an arm around her, and she found herself leaning into him.

"I want to thank you, for doing this." he said, placing a kiss on her head.

"Doing what?"

"Giving me a reason to not be a dick."

Caroline laughed. "You did need one at times."

He jabbed her in the ribs playfully. She pressed into his body, resting her head on the soft patch of his chest.

It was stunning how comfortable she was with him. They chatted about... nothing. Just chatted. They chatted about his wide array of languages, (English, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, the language of some Brazilian tribe and apparently he was even fluent in written Kryptonian, and that was just the start), his favourite era ("Anything but the 1980's.") and any hobbies he had (although the joke about author's being tasty earned him a playful slap). Soon, nearly an hour had passed.

"I could get lost in the maze that is you." he told her, eyes filled with wonder. As he looked down at her, she could no longer resist the urge.

Cupping his face in her hands, she pulled him forward, and pressed her lips to his. He seemed surprised at first, but he soon found himself. He pulled her into his lap, his kiss endlessly deep and soft. Soon, his tongue was in her mouth and they were rolling around on his sofa like a couple of love sick teenagers.

"Oh my God, Klaus." A nasal, whiny voice interrupted them, causing Caroline to grab Klaus and pull him in front of her to cover herself up (as to where her dress was, that was unknown, but she was pretty sure it wasn't anywhere near). "On the sofa? Really?"

"Rebekah, what the..." Klaus adjusted himself so Caroline was covered. "Turn around."

"Oh, but she's so pretty..."

"Turn around!" he roared. She pouted, but did so.

He returned hardly a second later with her dress, which she promptly slid back on.

"Did you really stay the night, Caroline?" Rebekah asked pointedly.

"Yes, I did."

"Huh, you and Tyler broke up, all of... twelve hours ago?" she put special emphasis on 'twelve'. "And you're already jumping into bed with my brother. And they call me easy..."

Caroline opened her mouth to retort, but Klaus was already on his feet, his top still on the floor somewhere. He had his back to her, but Caroline guessed from the low, guttural growling and the glance of pure fear on his sister's face that he was displaying his more wolfish side.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled. "I thought you moved out."

"I did." she said shortly. "But I was just curious as to why Tyler Lockwood is drinking himself into a coma at 11am. Thought I'd ask your new plaything."

Caroline stood up before Klaus actually bit her, placing a hand on his arm. "Why did you look for me here?"

"Well, your mum said you were at a friend's... I checked Elena's, then Bonnie's, then I put two and two together and came to the conclusion that it must be a very special friend to drive Tyler to drink." she said smugly. "Although, the fact that I found you here is pretty self explanatory, I don't even need to ask why he's upset now."

"Well, now you know. You can leave." Klaus said bluntly.

"Yes, I can. But I won't." she smiled sweetly. "I'd much rather stay here and point out how Caroline here was just about to sleep with the guy who drowned her ex's mother, tried to kill her best friend and who has undoubtedly compelled her to feel anything for you."

Klaus lashed out at Rebekah, who made some kind of squeek. Caroline closed her eyes, not even daring to see the carnage that this could cause.

"You bit me!"

Caroline's eyes shot open. Rebekah was clutching her arm, a very clear bite mark was leaking blood.

"Klaus..."

"Caroline, don't."

"Klaus, you bit her."

"I can see that, thank you."

Caroline went to Rebekah. There was tears streaming down her face and she was shaking. It was terrifying seeing the most vicious killing machine known quivering.

"Klaus, give her your blood."

"Why?"

"Because killing your siblings every time you get into an argument is just a little bit immature, don't you think?" Caroline stammered.

"She was rude to you." he said hotly. Caroline didn't know whether to roll her eyes or kiss him.

"Klaus, please!" Rebekah screamed. "Please, please, I'm sorry, I'll never do it again, please just save me."

This time, Klaus rolled his eyes, bit his wrist and shoved it in his sister's mouth. She drank thankfully from him.

He looked at Caroline, who simply smiled at him.

After Rebekah had left, Klaus slumped back down on the sofa. Caroline stood.

"You're doing the job interview thing again, love."

"Would you have let her die?"

Klaus glanced at her. "Do you even need to ask me that?"

Caroline said nothing.

"Sure, I would have waited for the hallucinations to start before I helped, but you've gotta be firm with Rebekah."

"She's your sister, not a puppy, Klaus."

"I know, puppies are less annoying, and less high maintenance." he laughed. Caroline couldn't help but giggle.

She stepped forward, and slapped his arm.

"What was that for?!"

"I can't save you if you're going to be a dick all the time."

He sighed at her. "Caroline Forbes, what would I do without you?" he kissed her, a lingering kiss that left her weak at the knees.

"Well, clearly you'd torture your siblings." she said, slightly breathlessly.

"Only every so often." he winked. She realised they were very close to be in a waltz position as he slid his hand into hers began to sway.

"Really?" she laughed. "You dance?"

"Only with _very _pretty girls." he said as he twirled her.

She rested her head on his shoulder, and he rested his on her head. They stayed there for a while, just swaying to silent music.

"You didn't have to do that for me." Caroline broke the silence.

"Of course I did."

"No, you didn't..."

"Caroline," he lifted her head to face his. "I did, and I would do it again, and I will if I have to. I protect the ones I love." He kisses her lightly on the nose.

She giggled. "Is this what it always like with you? It's not even lunch time and we've nearly had sex, killed someone..."

"Aha, yes, love." he kissed her again. "This is exactly what it is like."

She thought for a moment. "Good."

He grinned. He slid his hands down her back, down the back of her thighs until he wrapped his fingers round them and pulled her up so they were wrapped around his waist.

"Now," he said lustily. "Let's get that dress back where it belongs."

"Where's that?" Caroline breathed.

"My bedroom floor." He smiled one of his annoyingly charming smiles, before pressing his mouth back against hers.


	3. The Opinions of Others

"Cookie?"  
"Ooh, yes please." Caroline grabbed a double chocolate chip from the packet as she crossed out '1990's' from her colourful Decade Dance mind map. It was a disaster. The dance was mere weeks away, and they hadn't even got a decade yet.  
"Still no inspiration?" Klaus said sympathetically.  
"Nothing. We've done all the good decades, and everyone there will have lived through the 1990's." she groaned.  
"Caroline, you're immortal. Why are you wasting a never ending life planning a high school dance?"  
"Because I'm immortal, Klaus." she said, exasperated. "I have the rest of eternity to do boring, immortal things. I'm still technically 18 so I fully intend to live by that."  
She was absolute on that. She crossed her arms in an attempt to prove her point, but Klaus only smiled at her.  
"You're so cute when you're stubborn."  
She threw a highlighter at him. "This matters to me, Klaus!"  
"I know it does, love." he said as he threw it back. "Any excuse to take you to a dance."  
He'd won her over, and he knew it.  
"I'm just not looking forward to reliving another decade."  
Inspiration hit like a brick. "Then we won't."  
"What?"  
Caroline grinned. She wrote '3013' in big numbers in the middle of her page and circled it aggressively to emphasise her victory. She took a victory bite of her cookie.  
"You want to set it in the future?"  
"Why the hell not?"  
"Is this you being crazy and impulsive, because I'd love to see you really take a risk." he teased.  
"I live with you, don't I?" she pushed him playfully. "My own mother is on the verge of staking me, Elena thinks I'm insane, Damon thinks I'm an idiot and Rebekah... deserves a smacking."  
Klaus chuckled at the aggressive mention of his baby sister (affectionately known as the 'She Devil') and the somewhat strained tension between her and Caroline since the unfortunate incident where Rebekah had caught them in a slightly compromising position.  
But she had a point; their new relationship had stirred things up somewhat...

* * *

_**Point of View: Liz Forbes**_

Liz frantically scanned her daughter's vague and infrequent text messages, reassuring her of her safety. She knew in her heart, Caroline was safe from most things, but four days without seeing her was enough to drive even the most lenient of mothers over the edge.  
She paced about the kitchen, nervously checking her phone every few seconds, until the front door opened, and Caroline's voice greeted her.  
Liz ran to the hall, but stopped abruptly. She looked different; her hair wasn't smoothed into perfect, and she was wearing a black trench coat that Liz had never seen before. It also looked about five sizes too big for her daughter. Despite this, and the nervous look on her face, Caroline was positively glowing.  
"Where have you been?" Liz stormed.  
"At a friend's."  
Caroline's eyes dropped to the floor; her tell.  
"You're lying."  
"Mum, I'm not! I was at a friend's."  
"What friend keeps you away from me, hardly a message, for four days?" Liz asked incredulously.  
Caroline looked shocked. "It's been that long?"  
"What friend, Caroline?"  
She murmured something too quiet to hear.  
"Sorry, what?"  
"I was at... Klaus's."  
"You were where?!" Liz screamed.  
"Mum, please... He needs me, he loves me, he wants to change..." she pleaded.  
"Caroline Forbes, you are a naive little girl if you think that monster can love."  
Caroline knew better than to argue, so she simply dropped her face sadly.  
"That man is a killer. He held this town hostage, he killed Tyler's mother, he killed your best friend's aunt, how can you even contemplate he has enough humanity left inside him to feel?" she raged to her silent daughter. "He would bring this world to it's knees if it meant getting what he wanted... Hell, Caroline! He was using your best friend as a portable hybrid maker! God alone knows how many innocent lives he has taken since you've been cosying up with him..."  
"None."  
Liz did a double take. "What did you say?"  
"I said, none. He hasn't fed on a human since I went with him." Caroline said feebly, as if this little nugget of information wiped out 1000 years of slaughter and torture.  
"Bullshit, Caroline." she snapped. "He's probably just compelled you to forget it all."  
"He wouldn't, Mum!" Caroline retorted. "He wouldn't do that to me, because he loves me!"  
"Oh yeah? And how do you know? How can you even trust him with..."  
"Because I love him too!" she yelled. The second the words escaped her mouth, her face whitened. She was upstairs in a flash before Liz could form and answer.  
"Caroline..." she shouted upstairs.  
Her daughter stormed downstairs with two bags in her hands. "I'm leaving, I'm going back to him."  
"Wha..."  
"Goodbye, Mum." She was out the door without another word, leaving Liz in her hall, alone, confused and bewildered.

* * *

"Do you think my mum hates me?" Caroline said sadly. Having recounted the experience with her mother for the first time to Klaus (leaving out her declaration of love for him), she was feeling a little childish , and more than a little guilty for not defending him.  
Klaus thought for a moment. "I do not, Caroline. I killed my mother and she forgave me." he said lightly.  
"And then she tried to kill you."  
"Details." he shrugged.  
Caroline despaired. "I hoped Elena might take it a little better, but she thinks I'm an idiot."  
He kissed her forehead. "I'll go get you a blood bag. Why don't you tell me about it? It might make you feel better. "

* * *

_**Point of View: Elena Gilbert**_

Elena eagerly waited in the living room of the Salvatore Boarding House for a knock on the door. Bonnie was holed up with Professor Creepy, and Caroline had gone completely AWOL, up until this morning when she texted asking to talk. It would nice to actually have a conversation; Damon seemed to be walking on eggshells since he found out about their bizarre connection.  
The door knocked, and Elena threw it open. Caroline beamed at her, launching herself at Elena.  
"Where have you been?" she demanded. "It's been nearly a week."  
Caroline released her. "That's what I need to talk to you about."  
Elena saw the concern on her friend's face. "Care, what's wrong?"  
She took a better look at her best friend; her hair was thrown into a rought bun on the top of her head, something she rarely did even to go running. She was devoid of make up, but her face had a certain glow about it.  
"The reason I've been gone... I've been at Klaus's."  
Elena was silent as she absorbed this information. She was shocked. But the more she thought about it, the less surprised she knew she should be. She'd heard of Tyler's drunken adventures at the Grill, so it wasn't much of a leap.  
Elena felt torn. She wanted Caroline to be happy, but with Klaus? The man was a monster of epic proportions.  
"But... after everything he's done, is this really..." she tried to reason.  
"Yeah, everything he's done for me."  
"He has never caused you anything but pain!"  
"Except when he saved my life... twice!" she fumed. "He's looked after me, been a friend to me, he's even stopped killing for me."  
The last bit startled her. "Well, good for him! Are you forgetting Carol Lockwood, Jenna... me?!"  
"No, of course not, Elena." she said coldly. "But he deserves a second chance. What do you think would happen if he was on his own for another thousand years? How many more meaningless deaths?"  
"Oh, so this is a selfless act on your behalf, is it?"  
"What?"  
"You get nothing you want out of this. Don't even bother lying," she snapped as Caroline opened her mouth to protest. "You've been gone for a week, I'm guessing you weren't sleeping in the guest room."  
"Elena, don't be such a bitch."  
"Tell me, how many hours after you dumped Tyler on his ass did you wait before jumping into Klaus's bed?"  
Caroline was clearly hurt by the scorn in her voice, but Elena didn't care.  
"Care, I'm sorry but this is a one way street."  
"Yeah, it is." she scowled. "Klaus _will_ stop hunting, he _will_ be a better person and..."  
"You'll live happily ever after?" Elena said sarcastically.  
Caroline paused. "Yes, we will."  
"You're insane."

* * *

"I don't think you're insane." Klaus threw her a blood bag. She loved him so much for letting her rant at him, for sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her. She cuddled into his chest and sipped at her blood bag.  
"Well, at least Damon wasn't as bad."  
"Oh yeah?"

* * *

_**Point of View: Damon Salvatore**_

Damon had been listening to the girl's argument with growing interest. Klaus's feelings for Caroline were no secret, and Damon had suspected that Caroline felt the same about him, but he never believed it would go this far.  
He was impressed.  
He heard the all too familiar sound of a vampire being thrown into a piece of his furniture. Damon groaned, realising his famous reconciliation skills were needed.  
Slumping downstairs with a brandy in his hand, he announced himself to Caroline by clearing his throat. She glanced at him, and nodded, quickly looking away.  
Elena was pulling herself to her feet, pulling bits of coffee table out of her hair.  
Damon looked back at Caroline. "You look like shit." She scowled at him.  
"Ladies, I've been listening to this conversation and while I too," he glanced at Elena, "think Caroline is being a bit of an idiot, I think she's old enough to make her own decisions."  
"Thanks, I think." she nodded.  
"Klaus is an original." Elena huffed. "This might not even be real, you could be compelled."  
Damon chuckled.  
"What?" both women snapped.  
"Caroline isn't compelled." he said, still laughing to himself. He realised neither were seeing the joke. "Oh, come on! That is one lovesick werepuppy, haven't you seen how he looks at her?"  
Elena shook her head. Caroline shrugged.  
"You bring out the slightly less homicidal bit of him, I don't think he'd be cruel as to compel anything from you."  
Caroline looked smug.  
"Yeah, and who's to say she wont end up with a dagger in her heart the first they have a little tiff?" Elena said incredulously.  
"He's not going to kill me, Elena..."  
"He carted his siblings round in coffins for the best part of a century, Caroline. Don't be so thick."  
The mention of Klaus's siblings sparked a question in Damon. "Speaking of his siblings, how is dear Rebekah taking this?"  
Caroline stiffened.  
"Ah, not so well? Who told her, you or Klaus?" Damon said, winking.  
"No one, she just kind of... found out."  
"Oh, she didn't?" Damon threw back his head in laughter. "That is too precious. What happened?"  
"Klaus bit her because she was rude to me."  
Elena and Damon fell silent.  
"He poisoned his sister because she was rude to you?" Elena gawked.  
"Yeah, he did." Caroline said proudly. "So, since I'm 'old enough to make my own choices', I think I'll go now, because it's clear I'm not finding much support here." She turned and left, Damon with a blank look on his face, and Elena picking bits of coffee table from her arm.

* * *

"You broke Damon's coffee table?" Klaus chuckled.  
"Yep."  
"With his girlfriend?"  
"Yep."  
"I am a terrible influence on you." he grinned, pulling her leg over him so she sat in his lap, facing him.  
"Actually, I think you're possibly the best thing to ever happen me."  
Klaus said nothing, but simply brought a hand to her face, gently stroking her cheek. He cocked his head, as if contemplating her. Caroline turned her head in his hand to kiss his palm. He opened his mouth, but closed it again.  
"What?" she smiled.  
"I... I don't think... I've never been anybody's best." he stuttered, suddenly very embarrassed. He removed his hand, placing it in his lap, looking down.  
Caroline could have kissed him. She did kiss him, placing her hands around his neck, using her mouth to guide his face back upwards. She broke away, marvelling at how his mouth stayed open just a fraction, his eyes still shut.  
"When I'm with you, I'm free." she told him. "I feel so strong, like I could do anything. Go anywhere. Be myself. Scream, shout, live my life in a way never could before."  
Klaus looked at her in awe. "Let's leave."  
"Leave for where?" she laughed, holding his face in her soft hands.  
He thought. "Anywhere. Everywhere. We'll travel."  
"I can't just... leave!" The last word came out as more of a scream as Klaus abruptly stood up and threw her over his shoulder.  
"What are you doing?" he giggled.  
"Taking you to the bedroom, we must pack!"  
"Klaus, I can't leave..."  
"Sure you can." he said as he dropped her onto the bed. She was still giggling hysterically. He climbed on top of her, kissing her again. She wrapped her legs around his back, kissing him more passionately. She ran her fingers through his hair, holding him close; she never wanted to let him go.  
When he paused for breathe, she reminded him of the dance. This time, he laughed.  
"Love, if you want to dance, I will waltz you down the beaches of India. We will dance in the carnival at Rio, I'll jive on the roof of a New York skyscraper..." he said excitedly. "...for you, I'd dance anywhere."  
Caroline beamed at him; he was so gleeful. So excited by the prospect of whisking her away. She thought of her mum, of Elena, of Damon... it seemed there was less and less reason to stay in Mystic Falls recently.  
"Well, I've got one question then." she said.  
"What's that?"  
She paused to savour the look of anticipation on his face. "Where first?"


	4. Waking up in Vegas

Caroline woke up in a strange room just as the Sun rose. Despite how it came and landed on her face in patchy, faint streaks, the room she was in was already light. This was, she noticed, due to how the wall to her left appeared to have been replaced with floor-length windows.

The rest of the walls were decorated in a textured, chocolate coloured wallpaper. In front of her, a chest of draws in sleek, dark wood sat below an enormous television. The bed she was in equally large; easily big enough to sleep four people. She was wrapped in a thick, crème duvet, and propped up on matching pillows. Hazily, she stretched out, feeling her body wake up. But it was she didn't feel that brought her to her senses; where was Klaus? The first night they shared a bed, still unaccustomed to not sleeping alone, Caroline stretched out with such vigour she nearly pushed him clean out of bed and on to the floor. The memory brought a smile to her face.

She sat up, her head instantly fuzzy; how long had she slept last night? It dawned on her that she must have been in a hotel room, as the room was excessively luxurious, yet still quite small. She glanced to her right, and found a large glass of blood on the bed side table, accompanied by a note.

Ignoring the blood, she snatched up the note, labelled 'Caroline' in his small, slanted script. Inside, it read;

Morning, love.

I've popped out to get some necessary items, but I will be back soon.

My love, Niklaus

PS: Welcome to Las Vegas

Caroline could only imagine what items Klaus listed as 'necessary', but she had to reread the note three times to clock on.

Las Vegas.

She was in Las Vegas.

He head snapped round to the window. Quickly throwing on another of Klaus's disgarded shirts, she skipped to the window. The Sun was fully risen, and she gasped as she realised that she was, indeed, looking down at the city of Las Vegas.

A wave of vertigo made her realise she was looking down at it from quite a height. The dusty sunlight covered the street below her, a few cars left trundling along for boring, morning duties. She'd seen pictures of Vegas in the night, lit up like a Christmas tree, but she'd never have imagined how beautiful it was by day.

"You know, they say, in certain circles, that Las Vegas and New York are the Vampire Cities."

A familiar British accent caused her to turn around. "And why is that?"

Klaus smiled at her warmly. "What other places only truly come alive when the Sun goes _down_?"

Caroline beamed at him, running towards him, and jumping on him. Wrapping her arms and legs around him, she kissed him. Something hit the floor with a gentle _thud _and his hands came up to hold her.

When she pulled away, she rested her forehead on his, smiling.

He grinned at her, almost laughing. She looked at him quizzically.

"You've stolen my shirt again."

"Yeah, well, it was that or give a whole new meaning to Las Vegas strip." she laughed. He laughed with her.

"I love it on you." he muttered in between more kisses. "I love you."

Caroline paused, the last couple of weeks replaying in her mind like a bizarre film. She saw Tyler's heartbroken face again, she saw her mum staring at her in disbelief and Elena and Damon looking down on her like she was a naïve little school girl... but then she saw the smile that played across Klaus's face every morning when he first opened his eyes to her, she felt his kisses, heard his voice that once filled her with dread, and now brought only comfort and joy.

It took less than a second for Caroline to realise. "I love you too, Klaus."

* * *

It turned out the extremely vital items Klaus needed was clothes for Caroline.

"This is Las Vegas!" he said happily. "We better dress for the occasion. I have three, very important things for us to do, so I have bought you three ideal outfits."

Caroline sighed at him as he rummaged through one of the bags. "Ah, yes. This is tonight's." He handed her a large shopping bag.

She peeked inside and gasped at the contents. She could only imagine the places she was going in that.

"You're so good to me." she said sweetly to him. "Thank you, so much."

"Well, I have my own incentive for buying you lovely clothes." he grinned mischievously.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I get to take them off you later."

* * *

They spent the rest of the day lounging around the hotel. By 10am, the sun was out in spectacular glory. It made the pool shimmer like sapphires, danced off the many windows of the building in blinding streaks and warmed Caroline to her core. Klaus had told her that as a vampire, she would no longer enjoy swimming, a warning she had flatly ignored.

Diving into the pool, she was greeted by a highly uncomfortable feeling that reminded her of how a cat must feel in the rain. Still, she was determined to prove him wrong so she did a few lengths then floated on her back to wave at him.

She grinned and shook his head as she beckoned him into the pool. "Not a chance." he mouthed at her.

She gave in eventually, drying herself off and laying down in a sun lounger next to him.

"Can vampires tan?" she whispered to him.

"No, but we burn easily."

She snorted in laughter. "So, what are tonight's plans?"

"A friend of mine owns a club on the strip, called Sang Lune..."

"Blood Moon?" she said quizzically.

He looked surprised. "You speak French?"

"Quite well." she said proudly.

"Well, yes. Sang Lune is... different to any other club you may know of."

"How so?"

He smiled mischievously at her.


	5. Sang Lune

Later that night, when the Sun had finally gone down, Klaus and Caroline set off for Sang Lune. Slipping into her red cocktail dress, courtesy of Klaus, Caroline felt positively rebellious as they walked down the eliminated Las Vegas Strip.

The entrance to Sang Lune was startling different to that of the casinos, hotels, strip clubs and wedding chapels that lit up the sky like fireworks. The entrance was small, and designed to look like a decadent church. All crumbling red brick and ornate stone gargoyles, the only modern feature was the words Sang Lune in bright white letters, shining in an italic, Gothic font.

Pushing open the large, wooden double doors, Caroline didn't know what to expect; she, however, did not expect a small room, with only a long, red couch and a single man standing there.

Evidently this did not phase Klaus, as he pulled the man into a hug. "Alex, it's been too long!"

'Alex' agreed, before his eyes turned to Caroline. "And who might you be?"

"Caroline Forbes." she said nervously. Alex smiled at her warmly, picking up her hand and kissing it. She felt herself blush. He turned back to Klaus.

"Word on the street is you got what you were searching for... so you're gonna be drawing lots of attention in there, watch your backs." he warned. He stepped aside, revealing a door behind him.

"Klaus, Miss Forbes." he nodded them through.

The door opened, and a dimly lit staircase appeared. Caroline went first, one hand on the wall, the other clutching Klaus's; something Alex had said had scared her. 'Backs'. Was she in danger?

"No need to look so nervous, love." she soothed when they reached the bottom of the stairs. He pushed open another door and lead her through.

The noise hit her like a strong gust of wind, and so did the overwhelming smell of blood. Caroline felt her face shift, the hunger swell through her body like a whirlpool. So long since that had happened.

"This is a vampire bar." she laughed. "Of course it is..."

Klaus grinned at her. "Took you long enough."

The dance floor was panels of black light, giving the dancers and eerie blue-black glow. It was crowded; many people were standing for lack of seats. Nearly all of them had a Martini glass in their hand, filled with a deep red liquid.

Klaus took her hand again, and guided her past the dance floor to the bar. It was made of sleek, black metal, reflecting every light in the room, making it seem like liquid that too danced to the music. The man behind the bar was moving so fast he was a blur; filling glasses, taking orders, clearing empty glasses. He stopped when his eyes met Klaus's though. He grinned at him.

"My God, now there's a man I've missed." he said. "I thought I smelled wet dog in here. See you go your wish."

Klaus nodded, pushing Caroline a little further forward. "This is Caroline. Caroline, this is Jerome. He owns Sang Lune."

She reached forward and shook Jerome's hand. "What do you mean 'wet dog'?"

Jerome looked from her to Klaus. "You mean you can't smell him?"

Caroline laughed. "No, I'm probably just used to it."

Jerome looked surprised. "'Used to it'? Niklaus Mikaelson, have you settled down?"

"I might have, yes." he grinned. "Two, please."

He placed two glasses of blood on the bar, flashing Caroline a grin before he set off back to work. Picking up her glass, a question struck her that she could have hit herself for not asking it sooner.

"Where does this blood come from?"

"No one died for it, love, don't panic." he sipped at his own. "Most of it comes from the hospitals, but a lot comes from donors. People come in, _willingly_, and give blood."

"People do that?"

"No different to giving blood to a hospital; you're still saving a life, human or vampire and you get paid for it too."

Caroline thought on this for a moment. When he put it like that, it seemed less vile. Suddenly racked with impulse, she grabbed him and indicated that he should dance with her.

Begrudgingly – although she suspected he may have been kidding around – he followed her on to the dance floor. It was amazing how hot it was dancing among so many cold bodies. Pressing his body in to her back, he placed a hand on her stomach, pulling her towards him. He bent down to whisper in her ear.

"You look amazing." She leant her head back so it was resting on his chest and the dance together, grinding and swaying. They stayed there for a while, just dancing together, feeling each other. Soon, it felt like they were the only two people in the room. The only sound was their breathing and laughs. The only smell was the subtle spicy smell of his skin. The only sight was the endless flashing of lights and the moving shapes of nameless bodies.

After what felt like hours, a new sensation brought Caroline to her senses.

A smell.

A familiar smell.

She pulled away from Klaus, following it. She knew it, it stirred old memories and old feelings in ways Caroline could not quite understand. She head Klaus calling her name nervously, but it melted into the background noise of the club. Something in her brain snapped, like pieces of a jigsaw coming together.

"Tyler."

Tyler turned around, the shock on his face plain to see when he recognised her face. He stuttered something incoherently.

"What are you doing here, Tyler?" she muttered. She knew Klaus was not far behind.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he said incredulously. His look of confusion quickly turned to fear. "Where's Klaus?"

Caroline indicated behind her. Tyler began to panic, desperately looking for a place to put his drink.

"Tyler Lockwood, what a curious surprise."

Caroline cringed inside. Klaus drew himself up to beside her. She was suddenly very conscious of his hand on her hip, and she avoided Tyler's eye with fierce determination.

"I should have guessed," Tyler snarled. "that you two wouldn't be more than a metre apart."

"Tyler, out of respect for Caroline, I will resist pulling your heart from your body." Klaus said very calmly. "But cross me again, and I won't even hesitate."

"Oh yeah, you see, I don't think you will. All the chances you've had to kill me... I think you know if you do, you'll lose her." he laughed bitterly. "So, what's more important? Revenge or Caroline?"

Klaus remained silent.

"Coward." Tyler spat.

Klaus's eyes turned yellow and he snarled at him. "Talk to me like that again and I will rip your head from your body."

"Tyler," Caroline pleaded. "just go, please."

"Shut it, you stupid bitch."

Klaus jumped forward in retaliation, but Caroline put a hand on his chest. She shook her head slightly, then approached Tyler, and with as much force as she could muster, thrust her hand in to his chest.

She felt the beating of his heart against her hand, and it made her spine shake and her eyes water, but she didn't care. "Talk to either of us like that again, and he won't have to."

She heard the cold in her voice, like steel. Tyler's face was white in fear as she scraped her nails across his heart she retracted her hand from his chest cavity. She glanced back at Klaus, who was staring at her with a mixture of shock and pride on his face. She noticed that a sizeable crowd had stopped chatting and dancing and many of them were whispering to each other, eyes glued to Caroline and Tyler.

She fully removed her hand, gave a sarcastic smile and tried her best to walk back to Klaus without betraying the utter terror that had gripped her insides in it's claws.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and briskly lead her back up the stairs. Alex tried to ask what happened, but Klaus shook his head in warning.

When they were back on the street, Caroline began to shake and her lungs stopped working properly and the smell of Tyler's blood on her hands made her feel giddy and sick. The lights from the buildings towering above her began to swim in front of her eyes, swirling and dancing and taunting her. The songs from stages all around her, bells, whistles and pops, they all rang in her eyes at once like a hideous orchestra. She clutched at Klaus's chest to steady herself, finding her lungs emptying of air.

She could hear his reassuring words, but they meant nothing. "I'm sorry..." she muttered.

"It's fine, love." he said soothingly. "Must have been a shock to the system, that's all."

"I've never felt that kind of... anger, rage. I wanted to kill him, Klaus."

He smiled. "Why, you appear to have caught a bad case of impulsive-itus off of me."

"This isn't funny," she snapped. "I've never lost it like that before."

He paused. "Why did you lose it?"

"I, I..." she stuttered. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew the truth. "I just wanted to protect you."

He beamed, drawing her into his arms. As she rested her weary head on his chest, he held her tighter than he ever had before. The strength of his arms, the sound of his beating heart... they were nothing but comfort and joy and happiness.

She looked up into his eyes. "I'm sorry, I must seem pathetic." she shook her head, laughing lightly to herself.

"You're a treasure, sweetheart. You'll never be anything else in my eyes." He paused, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Come with me, you need to see something." She reached and took the hand that rested on her shoulder in her own as they walked in comfortable silence to their destination.

Soon, they were back at their hotel. It was bustling with the late night traffic; couples, men in sharp suits, women in black dresses, tourists, entertainers... a delightful rainbow of human life.

Klaus hurried her into an elevator, to the top floor. Then, he took her to the door to the roof. Smiling at her, he dismissed the 'No Entry' sign, and pushed it open. Caroline gasped.

The view was like nothing that could be described. They were so high up, she could see where Las Vegas ended, and it was like it was a world so separated and individual from the rest of reality. An endless sea of lights and sound, lit up in all it's beautiful glory for her to see.

"Klaus... this is beautiful." she said breathlessly.

A mysterious song started playing. It was beautiful; classical, strings and percussion woven together to create a silky finish. Caroline never liked classical music, but up here, with this view, with Klaus, a more perfect song could not be heard.

Klaus walked over to her, gently guiding her away from the edge. He placed a hand on her waist and took her hand with the other. Together, they slow danced to a mysterious song on the rooftop of a Las Vegas hotel.

"I promised you I'd dance on the roo tops with you..."

"You said New York." she reminded him.

He shrugged. "Too cliché. Besides, I wanted to surprise you." He dipped her down so his face was almost touching hers. He placed the most gentle of kisses on the space just below her ear, sending shock waves through her body, before he brought her back upright.

"Well, you certainly are full of surprises." she beamed. "Why, only three months ago, I would have doubted you were even capable of love, and now..."

"I know." he said, but his words were muffled as Caroline kissed him. He responded eagerly, running his hands through her hair and down her back.

They broke apart momentarily. "I love you, Klaus."

Klaus only smiled in response, kissing her once more before allowing her to melt into his body and continue their slow dancing.


	6. Reine du Monde

Caroline and Klaus had spent the rest of the week in Las Vegas in a state of sickening, dream-like, sickly sweet romance; the overall effect was quite surreal. She knew Klaus was a man of extravagance, but the change in him was so shocking, it was like being with a whole new person.

For the days, they would lounge in bed together, or by the side of the pool, lost in endless chatter and the mystery of each other. Come night, they would visit beautiful restaurants, dance in quirky, modern clubs and even just walk along the strip, taking in the sights and sounds and smells and sensations. For one, slightly awkward night, they had returned to Sang Lune. Caroline noticed that people there did not just brush her over and speak to Klaus, and she seemed to install a certain degree of fear. Klaus seemed especially happy about this sudden transformation of Caroline's character; there must have been something highly liberating about threatening your exboyfriend with inconvenient open heart surgery.

All these nights ending on a different roof, with a different song, and a different dance. Each night, he would take her hand and show her on to the roof, and together they would admire the view and soak in the delightful atmosphere.

Her only concern was blood. His words echoed in her head every time he returned home with the taste of blood on his mouth and a tipsy grin on his face; "Never underestimate the allure of darkness. Even the purest of hearts are drawn to it." She knew he had been referring to Elena and Damon, but not for the first time, she wondered how true it was. Klaus had happily supplied her with bloodbags, but she knew that he wished she would hunt with him. A part of her wished that too, but human life meant so much more to her than to Klaus; she wondered how long it would take for her to feel like him. That idea filled her with fear.

They woke up on Saturday morning, Klaus before her as usual. He left another glass of blood on the bedside table and a note promising his return. The sight of his handwriting made her smile in a way she thought only possible in cheesy romance films. She propped herself up in bed, sipping at her glass. She flicked on the TV, finding the morning news. She had felt rather isolated since she arrived in Las Vegas, and even though she had sent the odd message to her parents and friends, a part of her longed to go home.

Klaus had returned before long, a broad grin on his face. "I've got a surprise for you."

"I can only imagine." she teased jokingly. "What is it?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be much of a surprise."

"Does this involve me wearing that final dress?" she asked hopefully. She hadn't allowed herself a look, but she had had a curious feel; the material was exquisite, soft and silky like water on her skin.

"It does," he smiled. "although I think you'll like my surprise even better."

* * *

They spent the rest of day as usual; he climbed back into bed with her and together they watched some abysmal show on TV while they both enjoyed a glass of blood. After that, they went for a walk around the surrounding desert. Before she turned, this would have been hell for Caroline, but heightened senses made every grain of sand pure magic. The salty smell, the sensation of it under her feet, it was all magical.

Her and Klaus took ridiculous pictures on their phones of each other; just another bizarrely human aspect of a relationship that was anything but. It made her smile to see him like this.

The first glimpses of sun set made him grab her hand in excitement. They ran back up the hill and down the road, coming to a rest just before they reached their hotel. Caroline, who's stamina left much to be desired next to Klaus's, was out of breath. He laughed at her struggling to catch her breath, resting a hand on the wall to steady herself; the feeling was invigorating, she hadn't felt physical struggle in a long time.

They quickly ran back up to their room, collapsing on the bed together.

"Urgh, I can feel sand everywhere!" she squirmed. "I'm covered in it."

He laughed, kissing her nose. "I'll go run us a shower."

She raised her eyebrows at him, then started giggling again, laying back on the bed, allowing herself to rest.

* * *

When they were both showered and clean, Klaus slipped into a suit. It was black, crisp and sharp, creating the most delicious outline on him. She disappeared back into the bathroom to change. She carefully removed the dress from it's bag; it was forest green, a deep, rich colour. She slipped it on, and the flowing, floor-length fabric and one shoulder design made her look like she was wearing a toga. She felt like royalty. She quickly did her hair and make-up before slipping on a pair of heels and going out to meet Klaus.

He was already downstairs in the lobby. When he saw her, his mouth fell open in the most adorable of ways. He took her hand, and kissed it.

"You look beautiful." he said. "A modern day goddess."

She blushed, and they linked arms and went outside. There was a sleek, black car waiting for them by the entrance, which Klaus helped her in to.

"Where are we going?" she wondered aloud, curious as to what all this extravagance was in aid of.

"The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art." he smiled, unable to hide his glee.

Of course they were going to an art gallery. Klaus loved art. "The Bellagio?" She'd heard about it; an enormous building, surrounding by lights and water works that were as much as an art form as the building itself. She beamed at the thought.

When the entered the building, they found their way to the gallery. It was traditional in that sense; pale wood floor, plain white walls, filled with well dressed men and beautiful women. Just as the sand had seemed magical instead of mundane, the art seemed to jump off the walls at her. Colours and shapes moved and swirled and danced in front of her eyes. Statues shifted so slightly, their idea and meanings painted so clearly to her. She was in a land of magic and wonder.

Klaus escorted her around, their arms linked. He pointed out the rich and the famous of the art scene, rich investors and collectors, artists. Some beamed and shook Klaus's hand vigorously when they saw him. Most addressed him his full name, and it made Caroline wonder how it had been so hard to track him down the first time if he was so oblivious to trail he had led back to himself. But, she supposed the last place they would have looked for a sadistic 1000 year old killer vampire was the Las Vegas art scene.

Waiters showered them with champagne and ridiculously small bites to eat, so neatly arranged they were like their own individual art displays.

Klaus lead her to a wall they had not yet visited. The painting was large, landscape, depicting a young woman with light hair, dancing alone high above the Las Vegas skyline, the lights a rainbow of yellow, green, red, orange and blue dots. She looked so happy, wearing a beautiful, full length green dress.

"Is.. is that me?" she gasped.

"It is." he beamed at her. "Look at the title."

She did; _Reine Du Monde._

"Queen of the World?"

He nodded, obviously thrilled at her reaction.

A sensation of pure, undiluted love swelled inside her. "It's beautiful, Klaus."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder. The painting was stunning.

"I'll go get us another drink." he smiled, disappearing off behind her. She watched him go, but she felt an odd breeze from behind her. She turned back curiously, and found nothing there that would have caused such a sensation. Then she saw it;

A single yellow post-it note stuck to the wall beside the painting, a familiar writing scrawled on it.

_I still love you,_

_May the best man win,_

_TL_

Caroline's heart sunk in her chest as she snatched the note of the wall and scrunched it in to a ball in her hand.


	7. Controntation

For the first time since they arrived in Las Vegas, Caroline awoke to the gentle sounds of Klaus breathing. It was highly comforting for him to be the first thing she saw; she huddled closer into his chest. He subconsciously wrapped an arm around her, moving onto his side to embrace her.

She had forgotten how lovely it was to wake up with him. And after last night's affair, she was desperate to hold on to the good things, if they were to give her any clarity about the situation she found herself in. Her eyes flickered to the drawer in the bedside table, where a tiny, scrunched up post-it note lay. She had placed it there in the hope that she could ignore it, but it seemed unfair to Klaus and to Tyler. She realised that every day, she loved Tyler a little bit less. Maybe everyone was right; maybe she had been harsh, moving on too fast.

Klaus twitched in his sleep, grunting slightly. Caroline placed her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. He did this every so often, and it reminded her of how puppies ran in their sleep.

"Stop laughing at me." he mumbled almost incoherently. "What time is it?"

"About ten." she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Morning, sleepy."

She made to get up, but he grabbed her, holding her close. "Ten more minutes." he muttered, clutching her to his chest. She sighed to herself. How could she pick either of them over the other? Sure, Tyler was fun and cheeky and he'd always been there for her, and Klaus was impulsive and insatiable and dangerous and protective...

She stopped listing in her mind, realising that she fell in love with Klaus because he wasn't Tyler. He was all the things Tyler wasn't, and that was what was so attractive about him, about spending an eternity with him. She expected to feel a gulp and a pit in her stomach at the thought of an eternity with anyone, but as she looked down at his half-asleep face, she felt nothing but the promise of happiness. She realised that she wanted someone who would allow her to experience life, then help her when she failed, rather than wrap her in bubblewrap and never let her live. Klaus had always trusted her to do her own thing. Tyler had insisted she stayed safe and tucked away. Tyler had helped her at a difficult time in her life, but Klaus was the one who could give her a life worth living.

How could she have been so stupid? It was Klaus. It was always Klaus. It had always been, and would always be Klaus

There was a harsh knocking at the door, making Caroline jump.

"I'll get it." she said, kissing him on the forehead. He mumbled something before rolling on his stomach and grunting loudly. Caroline laughed quietly, opening the door. There was no one there, only a silver trolley with a covered plate. She lifted the silver lid, and found a note on the plate, addressed to her.

Curiously, she unfolded it. When she read the words, she yelped, dropping the silver lid.

_He will never be right for you_

_I will never stop fighting for you_

_I will never stop loving you_

_TL_

Klaus dashed to her side. Placing an arm around her stomach defensively, he bared his werewolf side with yellow eyes and bared fangs.

Seeing no one there, he turned Caroline's face towards his own, eyes filled with concern. "What happened, love?"

She just gaped at him like a fish. "I, I... I think you need to see something."

"He did what?" Klaus raged upon reading Tyler's notes. Caroline shut her eyes, terrified. She had not seen him like this in so very long. The feeling of his hands clamping on her face forced her to open them. "Why didn't you tell me last night? I could have found him... I could have..."

"Killed him?" she finished his sentence for him. "I know, and I know you would have. I didn't tell you because I knew you would react like this. Klaus, you were so happy last night, I couldn't ruin that for you. I was going to tell you, I just wanted to wait until today."

He looked deep in to her eyes. "Then tell me, tell me honestly, me or him?"

Caroline was aghast. "You, of course! Always you."

He paused, licking his lips. "If I compelled you to tell the truth, would you still say that?"

She grabbed his hands and forced them off her face. "If you really have to ask me that, then it is not my emotions that should be getting called in to question." she said coldly.

He stood back a bit, looking at her. Shame written on his face, he apologised; "I'm sorry, Caroline." he said, staring at the floor. "It's just, you left him to come with me so I wouldn't kill him."

This time, she advanced, understanding, and took his hands in hers. "I left to save him, but I stayed to save you."

"Do you really mean that?"

She smiled. "I told you, I'm too smart to get seduced by you. Of course I mean it."

He looked so relieved as he drew her into his arms. "I was going to suggest we make this our last night in Las Vegas, and tomorrow, we can head home. If you wanted, of course."

"I miss home, Las Vegas is beautiful, but it isn't Mystic Falls."

"One more night on the town?" he smiled. She nodded, wrapping her arms around him tighter, feeling his heart beat.

"One more." She leant up and and kissed him lingeringly.

He walked over to the cooler beside the bed, and pulled out two blood bags. He threw her one, then tore open his own with his teeth.

As they both drank in silence, Caroline realised they were both in their underwear. She laughed to herself at how comfortable they were with each other. When they had both finished, they discarded their bags on the floor.

"So, what shall we do today?" she asked.

"Well, we could watch TV," he said lazily as he brushed one bra strap off her shoulder. "or we could go shopping," He brushed the second off. "or we could even go grab a bite to eat." he said, unclasping it and allowing it to fall to the floor. He brought up a hand to massage her exposed breast, and Caroline felt the familiar electricity run through her body at his touch.

"I thought you were too smart to get seduced by me?" he teased her a little.

"Well," she said breathlessly. "then I don't want to be smart."

They tumbled on to the bed together quickly removed what little remained of their clothing and they were soon grinding up against each other in a series of moans and thrusts.

Night fell so quickly that night, as if the sun had rushed behind the horizon and pushed the moon into the sky.

Caroline savoured her reflection; this was her own dress she had been saving. A stunning gold fabric, it was cut out at the sides, and revealed a startling amount of her leg. As she slipped on her favourite black heels, she felt dangerously exposed. But it was thrilling.

It was worth it to see his face. He resembled a startled cartoon character, as their jaw physically hits the floor.

He didn't say a word as they got into a cab, for his eyes did all the speaking. She was silently very proud of herself for managing to pull this off.

They arrived at a night club called Star, a generic, traditional bar filled with drunk people and cheap drinks; it was ideal.

Caroline wasted no time once inside. She headed out to the dance floor to dance, Klaus following keenly.

"What's got you in such a good mood then?" he whispered in her ear.

"The sun's down, vodka and coke is half price and I get to spend one more night in Vegas with you," she smiled. "What have I to be in a bad mood for?"

He threw back his head laughing, twirling her around. She landed in his arms, still smiling ear-to-ear.

Then she saw her. She was young, maybe early twenties, with soft light brown lengths of hair that fell in waves down the side of her face. She looked bored, by herself. She was ideal.

Caroline beckoned Klaus to follow her over to this mystery girl. Gently touching her arm, Caroline compelled her to follow them.

The three of them found a back exit into an alleyway.

Klaus seemed confused, but when Caroline compelled the girl to not scream, he caught on. She caught the look of shock in his eye when she bit into the girl's neck. So long since she had tasted blood like this, too long. She drank, then broke away, gently licking the blood that trickled out the fresh wound.

Klaus was speechless at the bold display of vampire-ness from her. Invigorated herself, Caroline grabbed Klaus, kissing him hard. She was aware of the taste of blood mixing in their mouths, and she saw a flicker of blood lust in his eyes. She guided him over to the girl, to where he promptly fixed his mouth on the other side of her neck. Caroline resumed on her side.

"What the..." an angry voice disrupted them. Caroline stopped in blind fear, but the use of her name made her realise what had happened. "Caroline, are you hunting?"

She wiped the blood from her mouth and turned to face Tyler. He looked enraged.

"I can't believe you're hunting... with him." he pointed angrily to Klaus.

"Tyler, stop it." she snapped.

"No, you've changed." he snapped back at her. "You're hunting now? Running away with a killer? Does your mum even know where you are?"

Klaus appeared at her side. "I don't believe it's your business how she feeds, who she runs away with or when she calls home, Tyler."

"Yeah? Well thank God for that, because if Liz could see you now, she'd hang herself." he spat. Caroline reeled back, aghast.

"You little..." Klaus snarled, but Tyler was already gone. A glance between Klaus and Caroline spoke enough, and they clasped hands and ran after him together.

They found him on a roof – Caroline didn't care which one – shaking his head at her.

"I didn't give up on you," he said sadly. "I thought that you'd come back to me, I thought you'd come back where you should be, but what... this is who you are now?"

"I'm not really all that different." she laughed. "I'm just out dancing, having a drink."

"You used to get your drinks from bags, not tourists." he said incredulously. "You're no better than him, you're just a blood-sick little slut."

He spat the last word with such venom that Caroline launched herself at him in rage. She caught him by surprise, knocking him flat on his back, before she delivered punch after punch to his face. She hesitated, and he threw her backwards against an air duct. Her head collided with force, sending ringing through her skull.

Her vision was hazy, but she saw him produce something from the inside of his jacket; a stake. She scrambled upright, suddenly desperate to get away from him, terrified. But as her eyes refocused, she saw it was the white oak stake.

Suddenly, she was filled with a different kind of terror. Her eyes darted towards Klaus, who himself looked shocked still. It was uncertain as to whom Tyler was walking towards, who he intended to kill.

"Where did you get that?" Klaus fumed.

"You left your house so poorly guarded while you and Caroline were on your honeymoon, it was so easy to just sneak in and take what I wanted." he said simply. Caroline saw the pure rage contort Klaus's face at this. She gulped.

Tyler was making for Klaus. He couldn't kill him... could he? Even with the stake, he'd never overpower him. But he seemed unrelenting. Caroline slumped in front of Klaus defensively.

Tyler was only a few steps in front of them when he stopped. He looked at her like she was a pathetic child, and with a unnervingly quick movement, grabbed her by the hair and swung her away from Klaus.

The force of which he did this slammed her in to another air duct, but something was wrong. She left out a silent gasp, as she looked down and found an unsealed pipe sticking out from her abdomen.

Klaus let out a roar , but Tyler made the most of this distraction,wrestling him to the floor. The stake was pointed directly at his heart now, and Caroline desperately tried to free her self. It hurt like fire on raw flesh to pull the jagged metal from her body, each indentation and imperfection scraping on the wound like a thousand hot knives. Panting in terror, she allowed herself a glimpse at Klaus; the stake was touching his chest now, he was too preoccupied with Caroline. She cried out for him to fight back, but he was trying to escape from under Tyler to get to Caroline.

"Argh!" Caroline screamed as she finally removed herself from the pipe. Klaus was straining against Tyler now, but Tyler was fuelled with rage and anger and anguish and loss and all of the other hideous rainbow of human emotions that could torment a man.

Caroline staggered towards them, unsure of what she even intended to do. But Klaus let out a heart-crushing wail as the stake pierced his skin. Caroline's skin went cold as he thrashed about, finally kicking Tyler of himself.

But he still had the stake; Tyler threw himself like a madman at Klaus, who was exhausted from the contact with the stake.

Tyler stopped dead. Klaus was braced to feel the force of his hybrid on top of him, and held his breath in confusion as Tyler didn't move forward.

The lifeless body of her first love fell onto the floor in a mangled heap, Caroline stood behind him, his heart clutched in a bloodied hand.

Klaus stared speechlessly at her. She felt the blood she had ingested not long before crawling up her oesophagus, making her gag. She dropped the heart, throwing up blood. She clutched at her stomach, shutting her eyes tightly.

She wasn't sure when, but Klaus's arm was around her shoulder, and it was guiding her away from the scene that she had caused. Together, they slumped on the floor together, leaning against the wall.

After a very long moment, Klaus looked at her. "I'm sorry... you shouldn't have had to do that... I should have been there..."

Caroline shook her head. She didn't want or need to hear an apology, or in fact anything that might have made it seem like she had not done the right thing. She desperately needed to believe what she had done was not worth an apology, just a thanks.

"No, but... for you to do that... for me..." Klaus trailed off. He seemed lost for words.

She turned her head to slowly look at him. "I told you. Always you."

He shuffled closer to her, putting arm around her shoulder. She leant against him, suddenly very tired; she felt fatigue pulling her eyelids down.

"Always you." she mumbled, the slightest of smiles creeping across her face despite herself as she clutched at his shirt tightly, getting as close as she could to him. "Forever."


	8. Epilogue (Klaus POV)

_First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed this. It's my first fanfic and I'm so happy that people have actually taken the time and read it and give me feedback! I'm super proud of this, and it's sort of bittersweet finishing it but I hope you've enjoyed it. Thank you :)_

* * *

**_Point of View: Klaus_**

He was unsure of whether or not to approach her. Caroline was reading a book, with a duvet wrapped tightly around her. She seemed engrossed, or maybe she was completely out of it; she was in her own little world either way.

It had been three days since they had returned home from Las Vegas together. She had slept for most of the flight. When they got in, she crawled into bed, and despite the several hours of sleep she had had on the plane, fell asleep instantly. She only stirred when he too had got into bed later that night, pressing herself against him, intertwining their fingers and nuzzling his neck. She had held onto him tightly that night.

But, she had showed no sign of emotion since then. She had gotten over this far too quickly, it was not like her. Caroline felt grief and regret and pain like few others Klaus had known over the years. He had considered calling Elijah, an expert on feeling pain and grief, what with his sometimes tedious preference for humanity. She had ripped the heart out of the first boy she had ever loved, to save _him_. She should have been suffering, but instead, she was gazing absently at a book.

"Caroline," he said quietly. "are you okay?"

She looked up, confused. "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

Klaus opened his mouth, then closed it again. Was this denial? A thought struck him. He could have hit himself for not thinking of it before.

"I love you." he said sweetly.

She beamed. "I love you too." Her smile was irresistible. And real. He sighed with relief. She hadn't turned her humanity switch off.

"What is it?" she said, closing her book at looking at him. He said nothing, confused. "You're loitering, you're fidgeting, which means you're frustrated and you want to say something."

"I want to know why you're okay with... this."

She paused before speaking. "If I moped and cried for three months every time someone died in this town, I'd never stop."

"But it was Tyler," he pressed on. "and you killed him."

"And he is dead, as opposed to you." she said simply. "How could I ever possibly feel sad over saving you?"

She had, not for the first time, rendered him speechless. She shook her head at him, standing up and wrapping the duvet around his shoulders. "I told you, when I left Tyler, I was doing it save you. So why wouldn't I?"

"But Caroline, you're not feeling anything!"

"I am! I'm sad, so sad. I feel guilty and worried and I keep wondering if I did the right thing, but at the end of the day, I saved the man I love." She rested a hand on his cheek. "And I will never, ever regret that."

Klaus hadn't felt what he felt in that moment in more years than he wanted to count. He wasn't even sure what it was called. He just knew that he was looking into the beautiful eyes of a person who had made a sacrifice for him in a split second and it had been done entirely for him. The eyes of a woman who loved him for who he was. And he loved her back.

He had heard what Caroline was like as a human; insecure, competitive, verging on neurotic. But he only saw a loving, caring, loyal girl, fierce as Rebekah, honourable as Elijah, and so much smarter than Klaus himself. He chucked to himself at this.

She smiled at him.

Oh, that smile. That beautiful smile.

Impulse clouded his vision for a split second. Just long enough to create one crazy idea. Not long enough to consider the consequences.

"We should get married."

Caroline did a double take. Klaus winced at his own lack of logic; what if she said no? Where did that leave them? Would she hate him? How could she marry him, everyone she knew hated him. They wanted to kill him. Had he ruined everything they had with this careless slip-

The feeling of Caroline's lips on his freed him from his train of thought. She was kissing him. She didn't hate him. She was really kissing him. He slipped a hand in her hair, taking her hand in the other.

They stayed there for a long moment, just savouring each other. When they broke apart, he rested his forehead on hers.

"Okay."

Klaus opened his eyes. "What?"

"Yes, I will marry you." She was beaming in the most delightful of ways at him, happiness glistening in her eyes like diamonds.

He grinned like some stupid school boy, picking her up and spinning her round. She screamed in excitement, wrapping her legs around his waist. She kissed him once more.

"I think it's time to celebrate this the only way we know how..." she whispered into his neck.

He grinned, pulling her closer. "I agree."

"I'll go break open the double choc chip."


End file.
